The Hosta – A Shade Loving Perennial
|
Article by: Bonnie Carrier My first introductions to Hostas were four small green , Teak Outdoor Furniture -- From the Forests to Ships to Your Patio and white , How to Make a Simple Homemade Aeroponics System clumps edging a small section of my mother- in- laws driveway. I was not terribly impressed, they looked more like scraggly lettuce plants , Would You Like More Information About Climbing Roses? with a few sticks growing , Fiberglass Pond Liners out of the middle plus their size never seemed to change , 9-11 d Everything for the Garden Tractor Business from year to year. Fast forward a few years, I now had my own home , Starting with a Water Garden with visions of gorgeous gardens , Cymbidiums Orchid Plants - What You Need To Grow Successfully blooming in my head. The property , Growing Organic! Herbs, Flowers and Fruit was surrounded by trees, , Garden Water Feature - The Fish Dish which we loved not only for the privacy but the house , US Flags was kept quite cool during the hot summer , Decorate Your Outdoor Spaces on a Budget! months. I soon discovered that all that shade may have been good for keeping our home , Lawn Tractors Were Never a Chore and family cool it wasn't great for growing , Decorate Your Outdoor Spaces on a Budget! certain perennials , Fiberglass Pond Liners as most I'd looked at all said full sun. , Lawn Tractors Were Never a Chore During trips to local , Patio Umbrella Covers nurseries looking for shade loving plants , Would You Like More Information About Climbing Roses? I kept noticing Hostas, thinking "Oh, great spindly lettuce" I went ahead and purchased two plants, , Lawn Tractors Were Never a Chore I was desperate to plant , Trust Your s - They Know How To Grow! something along the perimeter of those wonderful trees. , Teak Outdoor Furniture -- From the Forests to Ships to Your Patio The two green plants , 9-11 Changed Everything for the Garden Tractor Business with white , Growing Organic! Herbs, Flowers and Fruit stripes found a home , Using Garden Decor For a Complete Garden next to a simple concrete , Forcing Bulbs for Indoor Bloom: Even 'Brownthumbers' Can Do It birdbath, one on either side. During the summer , Feng Shui Interprets Your Garden Features I weeded around them, watered and feed them every two weeks but didn't really hold much hope that they would turn into anything special. The following Spring , Abatement Failure and Aborting Protocols during winter , Decorative Concrete - The Beginnings clean up I noticed small green , Starting with a Water Garden shoots popping up beside the birdbath but again didn't get to excited. Well, by mid summer , 9-11 Changed Everything for the Garden Tractor Business those two had tripled in size were very full and looked absolutely beautiful. , Wood Furniture for the Outdoors: Durable, Dependable, and Pleasing to the Eye I began to rethink my first impression of Hostas and after doing some research discovered there are hundreds - actually more then 2600- of varieties available. Leaf colors , Garden Pond Construction include green, , Fiberglass Pond Liners blue, , 'Brite Eyes' Climbing Rose gold and white. , Garden Water Feature - The Fish Dish The leaves can either be a solid color , Growing Sweet Peas or variegated with a second color , A Beautiful Garden of Flowers mixed in the center or along the edges. Several plants , Spring is Almost Here - March Gardening Tips in various shades can really dress up a shady corner. By mixing several of the brighter hues along with darker shades can be quite dramatic. Another way to use Hostas is by mixing them with other shade plants, , Feng Shui Interprets Your Garden Features which can include Perennials , Floral Garden and Landscape Toupees such as Astilbe, Bleeding Heart and Japanese Painted Ferns also, Shrubs , Why Gardening is Better like Azalea, Hydrangea or Sweet Pepperbush. You're not limited to using shade plants , Decorative Concrete - The Beginnings just within wooded areas or around trees. , Spring is Almost Here - March Gardening Tips For instance, a partly shaded walk way along side your home , Patio Umbrella Covers would make a perfect candidate for this combination, plant , Choosing A Landscape Contractor the shrubs , Growing Organic! Herbs, Flowers and Fruit or tall perennials , Teak Outdoor Furniture -- From the Forests to Ships to Your Patio along the back next to the house , Save On Outdoor Lighting And Think Solar Lights with the Hostas placed in front can look quite stunning. A large shade tree , Choosing A Landscape Contractor in our front yard , Colour in the Garden looked like a good candidate for dressing up and because of the success of the birdbath Hostas of course I decided to try more around the tree. , Fruit s - How To Save Your Fruit Tree Blossoms From A Spring Freeze Using a tiller we formed a circle around the base and mixed good topsoil into the existing dirt, edged the circle with bricks, all that was need now were the plants. , Floral Garden and Landscape Toupees I spent several days' scouring local , Fiberglass Pond Liners nurseries looking for Hostas in different colors , How to Make a Simple Homemade Aeroponics System and leaf textures. Armed with six new plants , Are You New To Organic Gardening of moderate size - I'm one of those impatient gardeners - I staggered them around the tree, , 9-11 Changed Everything for the Garden Tractor Business put down a thick layer of cedar mulch then for decorative accent added several groups of unusual looking rocks found in the woods, , Growing Sweet Peas a family of resin squirrels also found a home , How To Design And Build A Fish Pond sitting around the plants. , Garden Art Ideas -- How to Make Your ers Into Beautiful Garden Art It really looked great and I just knew by the following year with regular watering and feeding those six plants , Growing Organic! Herbs, Flowers and Fruit would be larger, fuller and gorgeous. Several days later while doing my daily walk around to look for anything new, I noticed something strange around the tree , For Lighting Fixtures and Landscape Lighting Get Solar Power Installed in the front yard. , Abatement Failure and Aborting Protocols Getting closer things really looked funny. It took a moment to realize there were no longer leafy plants , How To Design And Build A Fish Pond growing there, just a bunch of green , For Lighting Fixtures and Landscape Lighting Get Solar Power Installed stems. This was how I learned that Hostas happen to be a favorite before dinner snack for deer. Therefore my advice , What Are the Appropriate Plants for My Landscape is if you live in an area populated with those brown eyed beauties and your going to give Hosta growing , Caring for Grosfillex Resin Patio Furniture a go make sure to spray them with a safe , Want to Stamp Your Patio? repellant periodically from their emergence in the spring , Cymbidiums Orchid Plants - What You Need To Grow Successfully until the first frost in the fall. , A Beautiful Garden of Flowers So for those shady areas think about planting Hostas, after all they are a whole lot more than scraggly looking lettuce. This is a share ware article. Give this article away for free on your site, or include it as part of any paid package as long as the entire article is left intact including this notice. Copyright © 2005 bonnie carrier.Bonnie P. Carrier is the creator of Savvy Home , First Aid for a Dried Out Hanging Basket Decorating & Savvy Outdoor Decorating. , Hydroponics Gardening verses Organic Gardening: Which Grows the Best Cannabis? She is the mother to two grown daughters and a very spoiled 4yr old Blue , Growing and Caring for Your Bamboo Merle Sheltie named Toby. Stop by for information , First Aid for a Dried Out Hanging Basket and ideas for both inside , What Are the Appropriate Plants for My Landscape and outside , Choosing A Landscape Contractor your home. , Why Gardening is Better http://www.savvy-home-decorating.com http://www.savvyoutdoordecorating.com |
  
|
Landscape Gardening
- Bamdoo
- Benches
- Berries
- Bonsai
- Building
- Bulbs
- Compost
- Flowers
- Gardening
- Grass
- Herbs
- Hydroponics
- Landscape Design
- Landscaping Ideas
- Lawn
- Lawnmowers
- Mulch
- Orchids
- Outdoor Furniture
- Outdoor Lights
- Patio Furniture
- Ponds
- Roses
- Seeds
- Sheds
- Shrubs
- Soil
- Tomatoes
- Trees
- UK Home and Garden
- Vegetable Garden
- Vines
Seasonal Gardening
mygarden.net.au Gardening | Landscaping | Climate Change | Home Improvement | How To DIY | Home Garden | Interior Design | Home Security | Home Finance | Forum | DIY | Add Your Link |